Shadows of the Past
1153 Words
The echo of the explosion still rang in Riven’s ears.
Bits of dust floated in the air like gray snow, drifting down from the cracked ceiling. The door to the ARC lab was sealed again, warped from the blast. Whatever that creature was—it was trapped. For now.
The Vanguard regrouped in a small maintenance chamber not far from the lab. Jax checked his armor plates, brushing off the ash that clung to him. Sera cleaned her knives in silence. Dray’s drone hovered nearby, its faint light cutting through the dark.
No one spoke for a long time.
Finally, Riven broke the silence. “That thing… it talked.”
Eloen nodded slowly. “If it could still speak, maybe it still remembered being human.”
“Doesn’t matter,” Jax said gruffly. “It tried to blow us up. Human or not, it’s a threat.”
Nyra stood near the tunnel map on her wristpad, eyes fixed on the lines. “Threat or not, it confirmed one thing—the ARC labs were working on human experiments before the outbreak. And the Hollowed might not be a disease.”
Riven looked up. “Then what are they?”
She turned toward him. “Maybe they were made.”
The idea sank in like a stone. Riven wanted to argue, but deep down, he knew she might be right. The way the Hollowed moved—their eyes, their strange energy—it didn’t feel natural.
They followed a narrow side tunnel deeper underground. The walls here were lined with old posters, their colors faded. Words like Stay Safe, Stay Underground and Report Symptoms Immediately were still visible beneath the grime.
After a while, Tarin pointed ahead. “Footprints. Fresh ones.”
Everyone gathered around. The prints were clear—boots, not bare feet. And small ones, too.
“Children,” Eloen whispered.
Riven’s heart thudded. “Mira…”
Nyra crouched to inspect the ground. “Could be your sister. Could be others the Raiders took.” She looked down the tunnel. “We follow them.”
The trail led them to a large underground junction. Broken lights flickered weakly overhead. The air smelled of oil and smoke.
Jax raised a hand. “Campfire,” he said. “They’ve been here.”
They moved cautiously around the corner. Sure enough, a small fire pit still burned low in the center of the room. Scattered around it were empty cans, sleeping bags, and weapon crates marked with the same symbol as before—three lines in a circle.
Tarin checked one of the crates. “Still full. They left in a hurry.”
Eloen found something else—a torn piece of cloth tied around a metal pole. It was bright blue.
Riven froze. “That’s my sister’s scarf…”
He rushed forward, grabbing it with shaking hands. The small patch on it—a stitched gear—was something Mira had made herself.
“She was here,” he said quietly. “She was alive.”
Nyra placed a hand on his shoulder. “Then she’s ahead of us. Keep your head straight. We’ll find her.”
Before they could move, a faint sound came from the tunnel to their right—footsteps, quick and light.
Jax raised his weapon. “Someone’s coming.”
They took cover behind the crates, weapons ready. The footsteps grew louder, then a figure stumbled into the light.
It wasn’t a Raider.
It was a boy—maybe thirteen or fourteen—thin, dirty, and limping.
He froze when he saw them, eyes wide with fear.
“It’s okay,” Eloen said gently, lowering her weapon. “We’re not Raiders.”
The boy didn’t move. He looked ready to bolt.
Riven stepped forward slowly. “We’re from Haven’s Deep. We’re here to help.”
At the name, the boy blinked. “You’re… from underground?”
Riven nodded. “What’s your name?”
“Lio,” he said, his voice hoarse.
Nyra approached carefully. “Were you with the Raiders, Lio?”
He shook his head quickly. “They took people from the shelters. Said they needed workers. They lied. They took us to the surface.” His voice cracked. “They gave some people to… the pale ones.”
Riven felt a chill. “The Hollowed?”
Lio nodded. “They trade with them. They call them the Changed. The Raiders say they’re not monsters—that they’re… the next humans.”
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances.
Nyra knelt beside him. “Where did they take the others?”
The boy pointed down the dark tunnel behind him. “They went that way. To the ‘Core Site.’ They said that’s where the machines still work.”
“The filter core,” Dray muttered.
Riven tightened his grip on Mira’s scarf. “Then that’s where she is.”
Nyra stood, her voice calm but firm. “We move now. Jax, Tarin—front. Dray, cover our rear.”
Lio tugged on Riven’s sleeve. “You shouldn’t go there.”
“Why not?”
“Because the Raiders don’t come back from the Core Site,” he whispered. “Nobody does.”
The tunnels ahead were darker and colder. Strange markings covered the walls—symbols drawn in black soot. Circles, lines, and words in a language Riven didn’t recognize.
Dray scanned them with his device. “Not radiation symbols. Something older.”
Tarin frowned. “Cults?”
“Maybe,” Nyra said. “But these weren’t made by Raiders. Look at the patterns—perfect circles, repeated distances. Machines don’t draw like that.”
Riven’s voice was quiet. “Then who did?”
No one answered.
Hours later, they reached a massive steel door built into the end of the tunnel. The door was half open, its gears jammed by rust and debris. A faint blue glow came from within.
Riven felt something strange—the air itself seemed to hum, like the whole place was alive.
Nyra motioned for silence and stepped forward. They peered inside.
Beyond the door was a vast chamber filled with strange machines—towers of metal, tubes filled with glowing liquid, and hundreds of pods lining the walls. Some were open. Others still sealed.
Eloen whispered, “It’s another ARC facility.”
Riven’s eyes widened. “What were they doing here?”
Jax pointed his light at one of the open pods. Inside was a body—pale, hairless, and still. But its chest rose and fell slowly.
“It’s breathing,” Sera said.
Then a voice echoed through the chamber.
A deep, broken voice that came from everywhere at once.
“WELCOME BACK… PROJECT REBIRTH… PHASE TWO… INITIATED.”
Lights across the chamber flickered on, one by one. The pods began to hiss.
“Nyra…” Riven said softly. “What’s happening?”
She stared ahead, eyes wide. “They’re waking up.”
- Writer
